(If that small parking lot is full, park at the lot at the visitor center. Tidepools at Yaquina HeadĪ short walk from the parking lot at the Yaquina lighthouse, steps lead down to Cobble Beach. Gray whales live in the area June through October, and this part of the Pacific Ocean is like a whale highway during migration seasons (December and January, then March and April). You might get lucky and spot a whale, too. I’m pretty sure we’ll still be remembering the whale’s performance when we’re old, wrinkled and toothless. Hubs and I still talk about that whale sighting. We must have watched the whale for more than a half-hour-it was magnificent. A park ranger explained that the whale swam on its side, using one fin to stir up shrimp clinging to kelp, then feasted. It swam back and forth mere feet from where we stood on Cobble Beach. Whale watching at Yaquina LighthouseĪnother time we visited, we watched a whale that came to Yaquina Head to feed. And sea lions rested on the beach just below the lighthouse. We also kept an eye out for harbor seals, which swim and fish in the waters there year-round. What’s more, this is one of the West Coast’s largest nesting spots of the Common Murre. The rocks around Yaquina Head are home to cormorants, gulls, guillemots and oystercatchers. It’s a good idea to bring your own binoculars, as there was only one working spotter when we visited, and it costs 50 cents to view. Tens of thousands of seabirds nest in the rocks, and you can hear them before you spy them. (That makes sense since it this Oregon lighthouse stills operates.) Luckily, there’s plenty of other things to do at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.įor instance, you’ll want to watch the bajillions of birds resting on the rocks around Yaquina Head. (And if you haven’t, you may have seen it in the horror movie The Ring!) Plenty of people come with their DSLRs and tripods to capture their own shots of the lighthouse.Įdie was very disappointed we didn’t get to go inside the lighthouse-you need to reserve tour tickets ahead of time. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is iconic-you’ve likely seen it on postcards or book covers before. And the barriers between the paths and the park’s vegetation were plentiful so I didn’t worry as much about kids slipping through fences. The paths are paved and mostly gradually sloping, allowing for easy walking for little legs. Visiting Yaquina Head Lighthouse with kids was easy peasy. (Yes, we made many bad jokes about the park being outstanding. The lighthouse is within the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is one of Oregon’s many historic lighthouses. At t 93 feet tall, it’s the states tallest and has been guiding ships away from the rocks at Yaquina Head for nearly 150 years. That’s why we love going to Yaquina Head Lighthouse with the kids-an incredibly scenic stop between Newport, OR and Lincoln City. Sometimes, though, we a family friendly outing that doesn’t involve throwing sand or chasing kiddos who are splashing in the freezing Pacific. Max and Edie love to chase seagulls and dig moats around sand castles, and I would be happy doing anything within earshot of the surf. While visiting the Central Oregon Coast, we spend as much time as we can on the beach.
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